Northumbria Police sounds alarm over Sunderland shop boss's link to bootleg tobacco in South Shields

Proposals had been submitted to Sunderland City Council licensing department for the Kopernik store located at Dunn House in North Bridge Street.

An application sought to transfer the premises licence from Mr Dominik Sobolewski to Mr Soran Omar Karim, who lives in South Shields.

Separate proposals were also received from Mr Soran Omar Karim to vary the premises licence to specify himself as the designated premises supervisor.

The application outlined how he was seeking to run the site as a small grocery store and off-licence.

However objections were lodged over the proposals by Northumbria Police who raised concerns over anti-social behaviour in the area and Mr Soran’s past links to illicit tobacco at Shields European Store in Fowler Street, South Shields.

The matter therefore went before a recent meeting of Sunderland City Council’s licensing sub-committee for a decision.

Councillors on the panel ultimately decided to reject the two applications – which mean Mr Soran will still be able to open and run a shop at the site but will not be able to sell alcohol.

They ruled he “was present” previously when “illegal cigarettes and tobacco” were being sold from the South Shields store and they have concerns “because of the high level of anti-social behaviour in the area and the proximity to student accommodation”.

A representative for Mr Soran, speaking at the hearing, stressed although he was present at the South Shields store when illegal tobacco was found, he was only a staff member at the premises and was not involved in its management.

A statement from Northumbria Police representatives outlined how Mr Soran is “known to police directly” following a number of previous incidents.

In 2019 officers visited Shields European Store in Fowler Street, South Shields with staff from trading standards and Mr Soran “was present when persons were found in possession of fake cigarettes and tobacco inside the store”.

“Fake tobacco” was also located in two hidden compartments within the store and a large quantity of rolling tobacco and 780 cigarettes was found in a vehicle at the rear of the store, according to police.

Additionally a statement from force chiefs outlined how in February 2022 trading standards officers conducted an enforcement visit where they seized over 1500 illicit cigarettes and 2.7Kg of illicit tobacco from the shop – noting “Mr Soran was liable for the business rates at this time”.

Helen Thompson, solicitor on behalf of Northumbria Police, said: “The problem that the sale of illegal cigarettes and vapes have is they link to underlying issues and criminality.

“They are often a large front for criminality with a shop being used for money laundering, and it’s found that those working in shops selling such illegal products are often subject to exploitation.

“The police don’t have any faith that Mr Soran is somebody who can uphold the licensing objective of prevention of crime and disorder in light of the information that we have in relation to him.

“He has been present when that tobacco has been found and he has been named responsible for business rates at the time the shop was trading.”

A representative and translator on behalf of Mr Soran stressed he “wants to do everything legally” and “do the right things” to support his family.

He added: “I want to do everything the right way, whatever happened in the past is nothing to do with me, I was never responsible for it.

“I’m not doing this, if you want I sign one agreement paper for you, if something like this happens, ban me forever.

“I’ve got experience, I’ve worked in shops for seven years, I know how to do everything, I know how to be with the people and with the customers and things like that.”

He added although Mr Soran was classed as responsible for business rates for the South Shields store when the February 2022 incident occurred he had requested both the council and the store owner to change this prior to the illicit tobacco being found.

Inspector Chris Eccleston, of Sunderland’s neighbourhood policing team, reiterated they had worries over the application.

He added: “We have some concerns in relation to not just character but also suitability in terms of that level of experience.

“Overarchingly that is our concern, that illegal cigarettes and therefore potentially other illicit substances will be sold from those stores.”